Table of Contents
Preface xi
Abbreviations xiii
Introduction 1
Part I A Special Place in the World 3
Chapter 1 The Biblical Perspective 5
1 The Old Testament View 5
a Humans as Living Beings 5
b Humans as Bodily Beings 7
c Humans as Theomorphic 9
d Human Reason 10
2 The New Testament View 13
a Bipartite and Tripartite Anthropology 14
b Flesh or Spirit? 17
c Two Kinds of Existence 19
3 God's Special Creature 20
Chapter 2 The Biological Perspective 31
1 Human Origin 31
a The Evolutionary Theory of Charles Darwin 32
b The Present-Day Picture 33
c Biological and Theological Evaluations 40
2 Human Constitution 46
a Distinction between Humans and Animals 47
b Inborn Forms of Human Behavior 51
Physical Constitution 51
Social Behavior 55
Cultural Evolution 60
3 Human Potential 63
a Neurological and Genetic Aspects 63
b Behavioral Aspects 69
Chapter 3 The Philosophico-Religious Perspective 83
1 The Option of Secular Existentialism 84
a Life Bounded by Death 84
b Humanity Thrown upon Itself 88
2 Utopia from the Left 91
a A New World through Revolution 91
b Concrete Utopia 95
c The Right to Be Lazy 98
3 The Impact of Religiosity 100
a A Homespun Religion 102
b The Ambivalence of Secular Humanism 112
c Faith in Human Reason (Humanist Manifestos I and II) 112
d Humanist Manifesto 2000 115
e A Modest Assessment of the Future 116
f The Postmodern Turn 119
Part II Human Freedom 123
Chapter 4 The Perspective of the Sciences 125
1 The Perspective of the Neurosciences 125
a The Ambiguity of Freedom 126
b The Functioning of the Human Brain 127
c Consciousness, Free Will, and the Brain 133
d Religious Consciousness 135
2 Freedom from a Psychoanalytic Perspective 137
a The Intrinsic Form of Evil (Freud) 138
b The Integration of Evil (Jung) 143
c The Tragedy of Evil (Fromm) 151
d An Inborn Inclination for Evil 156
Chapter 5 The Biblical View of Human Evil 159
1 The Old Testament Sources 159
a The Mysterious Cause of Evil 161
b Human Responsibility for Sin 166
2 The New Testament Outlook 168
a Humanity's Intrinsic Sinfulness 169
b Humanity's Unnatural Nature 170
Chapter 6 The Understanding of Sin in the Tradition of the Church 177
1 The Extent of Evil in Human Beings 177
a The Problem of Evil (Augustine) 178
b The Appeal to Human Responsibility (Pelagius) 183
c Captive, Yet Responsible (Augustine) 187
Phase 1 188
Phase 1 193
Phase 3 196
d Overcoming Evil through Human Willpower (Erasmus) 201
e The Person as Torn between Two Powers (Luther) 205
f Humanity's Shattered Image 211
2 The Kingdom of Evil 215
a Jerusalem and Babylon in Conflict (Augustine) 216
b The Kingdom of the Devil (Luther) 221
c The Kingdom of Sin (Kant, Ritschl) 227
d Evil as Societal Power (Rauschenbusch, Reinhold Niebuhr) 233
3 Sin in Contemporary Discussion 241
a The Enigmatic Shape of Nothingness (Earth) 242
b Estrangement and Self Destruction (Tillich) 245
c The Self-Centeredness of Humanity (Pannenberg) 249
d Sinful Social Structures (Liberation Theology) 254
e Against a Lop-sided Understanding of Sin (Feminist Theology) 259
f Feet of Clay 264
Part III Humanity as a Community of Men and Women 267
Chapter 7 Distinction and Unity of Man and Woman 269
1 Difference and Equality of Men and Women: The Issue of Gender 270
2 Men and Women in the Bible 273
a The Old Testament Account 273
b The New Testament Account 274
c The Account of the Nascent Church 275
3 The Phenomenon of Human Sexuality 280
a The Peculiarity of Human Sexuality 280
b The Old Testament Assessment 281
c The New Testament Assessment 283
d Dualistic Asceticism 287
e Sexuality as Part of God's Created Order 290
f A New Look at Human Sexuality 198
A Sexual Revolution? 303
The Homosexual Controversy 307
4 Marriage 309
a Marriage in the Old Testament 310
b A New View of Marriage: The New Testament 313
c Against a Prevailing Culture: Early Christianity 317
d Marriage Is No Second Choice: The Reformation 321
Marriage, Sensuality, and Celibacy 323
The Practice of Marriage 327
Parenthood and Family 330
The Challenge of Today 333
Children and Working Spouses 339
Chapter 8 Human Destiny 343
1 Work and Vocation 344
a The Respective Station (Stand) as Location for Mutual Responsibility 349
b Vocation and Calling 351
Vocation as Divine Service 351
Vocational Mobility 354
1 The Final Destiny of Humanity 357
a The Discovery of Life beyond Death 359
b The Old Testament Account 363
c The New Testament Perspective 367
d Rival Options: Reincarnation and Immortality 369
e The Materialistic Attack 376
f Ultimate Fulfillment 380
In Conclusion 383
Index of Names 386
Index of Subjects 393
Index of Biblical References and Other Ancient Texts 399
